


Hakoshae

by Orcbait (EmpressofMankind)



Series: Season of the Dragon [4]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Canon LGBTQ Character, Comedy, F/F, F/M, High Fantasy, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Multi, no one is straight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 12:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19887577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmpressofMankind/pseuds/Orcbait
Summary: While hiding-in-plain-sight from Euraxia Tharn in Rimmen; Remi and Ro are getting incredibly bored with waiting for the next phase of the rebels their plan to commence. They decide to go to Hakoshae, to take part in the renewed Proving Festival, for the hell of it. Abnur, on the other hand, is happy to stay right where he is and continue reading his way through the Khajiit’s ancestral library. Uraea is not amused when she hears and, in retrospect, neither is Abnur.





	Hakoshae

The sun rose early in Elsweyr while Jone and Jode lingered. Rimmen was quiet yet. Merchants carried their wares to their booths, fishers set out for the rivers and tenders started the fires for their food stalls. The first rays crept across the city walls, setting fire to the ancient red stone and sparkles on the fountain water.  
  
Abnur Tharn reclined against a corner pillar of the wayshrine located in the central square, the low stone bench he sat on awkwardly accommodating his long limbs. He was reading Zahrah’dra’s treatise on the Sixteen Kingdoms. It wasn’t hot yet but judging by the warmth of these first rays, it would be another sweltering day. At least, it wasn’t the suffocating, humid heat of Malabal Tor. All things considered, he found Northern Elsweyr’s climate close enough to Cyrodiil’s to be pleasant. Pulasia would like it here. Perhaps, they ought to invest in one of the outlaying estates when Rimmen was once more in the hands of the Khajiit.  
  
“This one could spend all week herre.” Ro’ranno yawned, his ears dropping down and his tail curling up. The Khajiit lay sprawled in the shallow waters of Rimmen’s fountain beside his best friend and regular partner-in-mischief, Ramira Don. Ro’ranno wasn’t wearing anything but the fur Alkosh had given him at birth.  
  
“You have spend all week here,” Abnur said without looking up from his book.  
  
Ro’ranno smiled broadly. “This is trrue!”  
  
“I’m bored.” Ramira made snow angels in the water, sending it sloshing over the Khajiit. She was wearing a red tunica with gold-threaded edging that floated around her like a summer dress. It was definitely not her size.  
  
Ro’ranno turned his gaze from the blue, blue sky to look at the Bosmer. “We could all play a game?”  
  
“Leave me out of it.”   
  
Ro’ranno and Ramira turned as one to look at Abnur. He wore a loose robe of white linen and and a long, light blue kaftan cut in the way currently fashionable among Khajiit. Its silver embroidery depicted the phases of Jone and Jode. They had tried to get him out of it, argued the benefit of only wearing breeches in this climate, but to no avail. The battlemage remained curled up in his robes like a recalcitrant handmaiden. Light streaks and a hint of yellow had shot through his long grey hair from all the time they’d spend in the Elsweyr sun.   
  
“Arre you surre, friend Abnurr?” Ro’ranno purred. His crooked grin showed one, pointy canine.  
  
Abnur fixed them a quelling look from across his book. “Very.”  
  
Ramira sat up, the wet garment pulling off one shoulder by its weight alone. The way it clung to her made it obvious that it was all she wore. And it had been difficult to get her to wear even that much. She’d been of the opinion that if the Khajiit could go about undressed in the middle of the city, so could she. Abnur shook his head as he returned his attention to his book. They weren’t in Malabal Tor. A Bosmer running around naked here would undoubtedly draw attention and defeat the point of them hiding in plain sight.  
  
Ro’ranno wriggled his snout as the battlemage ensconcing himself behind his reading. His tail swiped above the water surface. For a moment, the temptation was there. He wondered if he could outrun a fireball. He’d never tried.  
  
A splash of cool water struck Ro’ranno in the snout. He spluttered, coughed up water and sneezed. “This one is betrrayed!”  
  
Ramira grinned at him.  
  
Ro’ranno rubbed his hands past his eyes and shook his head to throw the water from his mane. His tail swiped down into the water, sending a wave at Ramira. And with that, the water war was on.  
  
Abnur sighed and wiped the stray spatters from his book.  
  
It occupied them for some time, cavorting in the clear, cool water. The two rolled around the fountain, pushing and splashing, their laughter ringing around the quiet square. After a while, Ramira gained the overhand.   
  
“This one yields! Ah!”   
  
Ramira straddled the Khajiit, splashing him without mercy. He brought his hands up in defence but to no avail. “I win!” Ramira grinned. She put her hands on his chest and leaned down to kiss his snout.  
  
Ro’ranno replied with a nuzzle. “Friend Rremi wins, this one yields.”  
  
Ramira glanced at Abnur, who was still engrossed in his book. Their play had brought them near the edge where the battlemage lounged in the morning sun. She met Ro’ranno’s gaze. A grin crept onto her face that mirrored itself on his. Ro’ranno’s tail moved through the water, arching beside him and just below the surface. Ramira’s right arm did the same, palm open.  
  
Abnur turned the page of his book. They struck in tandem, sending a sheet of water at him. To their dismay, the water stopped short in front of him, falling down as if from an invisible pane. Abnur turned another a page, a smirk tugging at his lips.  
  
Ro’ranno and Ramira shared one look and then they were up and storming towards him. Shield spells did nothing against physical attacks! And between them, they could drag the battlemage into the water.  
  
Abnur heard their splashing approach but didn’t so much as look up from his book. He turned the next page with a flourish. Or, did he?  
  
The two would-be assaulters jumped onto the fountain edge and into what appeared to be a wall of invisible jelly. They hit it with enough momentum to dent it inwards. In fact, they almost reached him. And then their momentum reversed and the magical barrier propelled them back the way they’d come. The air displacement tugged a strand free from behind Abnur’s ear. The yelp and mewl the impact drew from the two were particularly satisfying. The enormous splash a second later, too.  
  
Abnur flicked a droplet from the parchment page and glanced at them from the corner of his eyes, his smile distinctly smug. They kept quiet for a little while after that but not nearly as long as he’d have liked.  
  
“Why are you so boring today?” Ramira sat on her butt in the water, leaning back on her hands. Her normally springy bangs clung to the side of her face and a pout tugged the corners of her lips down.  
  
“I’m enjoying the sun while it remains unobstructed by a dragon.”   
  
Ramira tilted her chin down and frowned. “I want to go on another adventure.”   
  
“I highly doubt our current adventure is anything from over.” Abnur turned another page. Evidently, holding a conversation and reading the dense historical account at the same time wasn’t a problem.  
  
“This one thinks maybe we should go on a little in-between adventurre.” Ro’ranno laid on his stomach in the water where he’d fallen. He’d folded his hands under his chin.  
  
“I don’t know what gave you two the impression I want to go on adventures but I assure you, what I enjoy, is reading a book in the sun.” Abnur glanced at them. “Undisturbed.” He ignored their crestfallen pouts. Not today.  
  
“Friend Abnurr is truly Khajiit inside, appreciating the finerr things in life.” Ro’ranno turned on his back and purred. It was fine weather but he, too, smelled adventure on the wind. Rimmen was pleasant but the urge to travel, to explore, nagged on the edge of his thoughts.  
  
“Aren’t you?” Abnur said.  
  
“No, not this one,” Ro’ranno chuckled heartily. “We Baandari love the wind in our furr. Friend Abnurr is like city Khajiit, content rresting in sunshine with good food.”  
  
Abnur crooked an eyebrow. He even looked up from his book. “That didn’t sound like a compliment.”  
  
“Hrrm.” Ro’ranno closed his eyes, smiling. “That depends on who you ask.”  
  
Abnur shook his head, returning his attention to the storied history of Rimmen and its rise to prominence among the Khajiiti city-states.  
  
“Look, Ro!” Ramira said. She pointed at two women in brightly coloured robes of mauve and teal. They were hanging a parchment on the message board.  
  
Ro’ranno’s ears perked up when he saw them. “A poster to advertise something fun, yes?”  
  
Ramira nodded vigorously.   
  
Abnur watched them get up and hurry towards the two women - Imperials, if he had to guess. Their fashion style stirred an old memory but it refused to surface from the recesses of his mind. No matter, if it was important, it’d come back to him soon enough. He resisted the urge to tell Ro’ranno to put on pants. This so wasn’t his problem. If the city guard took offence he could always pretend he didn’t know the two little idiots. A smirk returned to his lips as he entertained the mental image.  
  
It took them a while to return. He’d reached the next chapter by then and had been lured into thinking that, perhaps, they’d found something to occupy themselves with.  
  
“There’s a festival at one of the nearby villages,” Ramira said as she dropped into his lap.   
  
Abnur could feel the water of his wet tunica, which she wore, slowly drench his robes. He pursed his lips and closed the book, a finger between the pages to mark where he’d left off. He looked down at the Bosmer, who was grinning up at him. The broad grin lit up her round face from the dimples in her cheeks to the sparkles in her green eyes. “The Khajiit do love their parties almost as much as Bosmer do, hm?”  
  
Ro’ranno appeared at his shoulder. “It is an Imperrial town, this one thinks.”  
  
Abnur crooked an eyebrow. Imperial settlements weren’t rare beyond Cyrodiil but they were quite a ways into Elsweyr. To the south, Ramira had said? He wasn’t aware of any Imperial settlements in that direction. They must be mistaken.  
  
“Will you come?” Ramira tugged the front of his robe to draw his attention.  
  
“Definitely not.” Abnur had no intention of moving at all today. He’d expected them to rebuke, or leave and go together, but they lingered. Ramira looked at Ro’ranno, who dodged around the battlemage’s gaze to look at her instead.   
  
Abnur cast his gaze to the sky, shaking his head. He’d realised what was up. “And what does this festival cost?”  
  
“Its free!” Ramira said promptly. “Though maybe if we want to play a game… or eat something!”  
  
“This one thinks it is only fairr that we must pay a little forr entertainment.” Ro’ranno glanced at Abnur from the corners of his eyes. “Orrganising such things takes time and supplies.”  
  
Ramira nodded sagely, sending droplets of water in Abnur’s direction.  
  
“You will be there all day?” Abnur asked.  
  
“They have an evening program? We won’t stay for the night though maybe for dinner.”  
  
Abnur nodded. “Very well.”   
  
He reached into his robes and produced a coin pouch. He took out several Drakes, one by one, counting them. He watched their faces from the corner of his eyes as he did so. They leaned forward, regarding him with rapt attention.   
  
When he closed his hand around the dozen odd coins as if about to give them to them, their eyes became notably larger and watery. He suppressed a smirk, raising an eyebrow. Ro’ranno’s ears drooped in a most pitiful fashion. Ramira actually managed to make her bottom lip tremble. Abnur rolled his eyes up and shook his head, handing them the pouch.   
  
The change was instantaneous. Grins plastered themselves onto their faces as they shared a look. Ro’ranno clasped his hands together, leaning back and forth as Ramira reached to accept the pouch.  
  
However, Abnur held on to it for a moment longer, catching both their gazes in turn. “When it’s gone, it’s gone.”  
  
“We’ll be thrifty,” Ramira promised.   
  
Abnur knew they’d certainly try. He pocketed the remaining Drakes - enough for second breakfast, lunch and dinner.  
  
“Friend Abnurr is most frragrant!” Ro’ranno nuzzled his cheek.  
  
Abnur scratched him behind the ears for a moment but then gave him a little push away. “Go! Off with you two, so I can read in peace.” He smiled, though, as he pointedly reopened his book.  
  
Ramira pulled herself up by his shoulders and pressed a kiss against his thin lips before jumping up.   
  
“Put on pants before you go, Master Ro’ranno-dar,” Abnur said without looking up from his book.  
  
Ro’ranno winced at the overly formal address. “This one supposes it isn’t acceptable to walk in one’s bare furr in Imperial society.”  
  
“It’s not far but we will be there faster if we ride.” Ramira tapped her fingers against her lips. Ro’ranno put his pants on behind her, the vibrant fabric staining dark from his wet fur.  
  
Abnur turned a page. “Incitatus is getting shod.”  
  
Ramira put her hands on her hips. “His name is Moonsugar!”  
  
Abnur glanced at her, one eyebrow arching up an impressive distance. “The studbook disagrees.”  
  
Ro’ranno’s ears perked up. “We can take Skooma? Or Sweetroll?”  
  
Abnur resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They’d renamed his horses and, naturally, they’d chosen inane names. Worse, on account of their constant use, the animals now only listened to these.  
  
Ramira smiled. “That is true! Lets take Skooma, she is strong and likes a good run.”  
  
Abnur watched them run off for the second time. However, with a little luck, they would now be gone for several hours. He shifted, making himself comfortable. After the events of the past weeks, he felt he more than deserved some ‘sunshine with good food’, as Ro’ranno had said. Pulasia would like it here, too. She’d enjoy the fine fabrics sold at the market. He smiled as he imagined her sauntering between the stalls, inspecting every weave that caught her fancy with an expert eye.  
  
The clatter of hoofbeats jerked him out of his wandering thoughts. Ramira and Ro’ranno stormed by on the blue roan mare, riding together. They waved animatedly as they passed. Within seconds, they had disappeared around the corner down the road towards the city gates. The hoofbeats died out in the distance. Silence returned to the Rimmen square safe for the clatter of the fountain and the wind in the leaves.  
  
It was still early and wouldn’t be busy for a while yet. There was no one else about. No one to disturb him for a good long while. Just the way he liked it.

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of time and hard work went into the creation and publication of this story and as such, it is very dear to me. I would love to hear what you thought of it! And please, share this story freely but credit me and link back to me. Thank you!


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